{SQT} Link-toberfest the Third

Welcome back to Link-toberfest III; a sequel that doesn’t suck. Yeah, you heard me Transformers.

1.Things were quiet on the blog this week because my family and I spent a few days at the beach. This is possible because homeschooling is portable and my husband is exclusively working from home right now. As we took our lunch breaks on the boardwalk, several times I caught myself thinking “We answer to no one!!! MWAHAHAHA!” I totally felt like I was getting away with something the entire trip.

2.Tony and I also managed to squeeze in a walk at sunset on our 14th anniversary, sans kids.

The whole experience was supposed to inspire some deep reflection about marriage that I could share with y’all but this is all I came up with:

I thought I would share how marriage is like the ocean.

First, the ocean is bigger than my husband and I. Taken at a glance, it’s huge and scary and full of things like sharks, those fish that glow in the dark and the Bermuda Triangle. I’ve heard a lot of bad stuff about the ocean! It ate the Titanic after all.

The idea of marriage can also seem big and scary. A whole life time committed to one, single person! I can’t just do whatever I want whenever I want- I have this other person I need to consider! Divorce is rampant! And babies, I’ll have to raise babies with this person, or perhaps a herd of dogs.

And then I never really got around to writing about how marriage is great, just like the ocean is great. The metaphors just kept getting worse.

Sure, sometimes things are smelly and there’s this gross stuff that’s dragged up from the deep by the currents that you’re totally unprepared for. You hold your nose, turn suddenly, and step on a jellyfish which hurts like hell. Even on an otherwise clear day, the salt water will suddenly sting your eyes or choke in your throat do it a careless or foolhardy move on your part. The castle you spent hours working on comes crashing down as the tide moves in and now the kids are sad, cranky and trying to bring 3,485 pounds of shells, partially dead sea creatures and sand back home. On those days, we wonder, was it worth it?

3. Considering I was at the beach, you might be expecting lots of great photos. In fact, I somehow managed to come home with only a couple grainy selfies of Tony and I, plus a couple from our walk on the beach.

4. This week’s Link-toberfest bonus question is “Who is your favorite blogger that you discovered through Quick Takes?” This is a tough one for me. When I started blogging, I googled ‘catholic mom bloggers’ and immediately found Conversion Diary, Clan Donaldson, Like Mother, Like Daughter, and House Unseen. From their blog rolls and Quick Takes, I quickly found many other bloggers that I read to this day. It’s hard for me to remember which bloggers I found where, however there is one blogger I know I found through Quick Takes that I still read, and I can say we’ve become good friends though I have yet to actually meet her in person.

Jen always finds a spot at the top of the link up (West Coast advantage) which is probably how I first noticed her, but I kept coming back for her dry humor, no punches pulled manner of writing, and our shared struggles with special needs parenting. If you haven’t visited her before, please do so today!

**Remember answering the question in your Takes or in the comments below gets you an additional entry for ALL THESE GREAT PRIZES!!! **

5. Some of my readers may have heard of the catastrophic fire at the Shrine of Christ the King, Chicago. I first learned about it through a Facebook post on the day of the fire that showed firemen bringing a 300 year old wooden Infant of Prague statue and the Tabernacle containing Our Lord out of the church miraculously unscathed. (Which you can view through their Facebook page.)

Unfortunately the rest of the sanctuary and building was destroyed; the roof, the choir loft and the organ are a total loss. To learn more about the parish, which had be slated for demolition only ten years ago and how you can help please click. At the very least, please remember the parish community in your prayers.

7. The only souvenir we brought home from the beach this week was dirty laundry. Amy, is a fan of magnets. She wrote Seven Quick Takes about magnets being great souvenirs. If you would have asked me to give you an impossible topic to write SQT about, I might have suggested, magnets. But even without the throwdown, The Salt Stories stepped up and delivered a good group of takes about the most under-appreciated souvenir of all (next to seashells with googly eyes), the refrigerator magnet. She also designed a really sweet Quick Takes logo that perhaps we should all vote to adopt?

Alright, that’s my story and I’m sticking with it. Join up below with a link back to this post so your readers can find the rest of Link-toberfest! I look forward to reading your posts! The Fine Print: Link up your blog for an entry. Link up a Seven Quick Takes post every week between now and October 23 for up to four chances. Readers, leave a comment for an entry. Leave comments here every Friday between now and October 23 for up to four chances. Bloggers, for a bonus entry, answer the featured question in your takes each week, and leave a comment here so I know. Readers, for a bonus entry, Tweet me @kellymantoan with your favorite Takes of the week, up to four times between now and October 29th. Winners will be selected at random and announced in the October 30th Quick Takes.

Can I just say how much I am loving your marriage metaphors? SERIOUSLY! You don’t need to put a positive spin on it. Carry on with those gloomy ocean depths 🙂 NB – I am not saying this to try to gain an extra entry. This is also not the reason I listed 7 bloggers I discovered via 7QT in my 7QT this week. I am just fickle with a warped sense of humour X

Love your quick takes! Thank you for hosting the best Link-toberfest ever! I did answer your question with some reluctance because I can never remember which bloggers I found how. This is so much fun, though! November is going to be such a letdown after our October quick-taking fun.

Fact- The pictures of the beach are stunning. and I want to go to the beach. badly. And it’s not gonna happen for many, many moons, maybe next summer. Le sigh…Michigan, Le sigh…
Second- Almost every blog I read I have discovered through Quick Takes. I am answering that here, because, weirdly and backwardly enough- I always do my quick takes and then read yours after I posted mine. I should stop doing that. Anyway. the fav. question is hard, because I just stop reading the ones I don’t love- so all of them are my favorite (I’m that mom).
That is all.

I answered your favorite blogger question in much the same way that you did… But then I eventually had to say that your blog is my favorite – simply because you host the 7QTs that let me find all the other blogs. So thank you for that!

I’m glad I’m in good company when it comes to not remembering which blogs I discovered through 7QT! I know I found yours when Jen passed the hosting baton over to you, but I supposed that counts as sucking up 😉

I’m glad you were able to have a nice vacation and evening with your hubby. So sweet. To answer your question, my fave blogger I met through 7QT is Karianna formerly of Caffeinated Catholic Mama, now at Best Bib and Tucker. 🙂

I honestly can’t remember the blogs I found from 7 Quick Takes. The blogs I follow, I have been following them for a long time and can’t remember where I first found them. I do think maybe I found Jessa (“Shalom Sweet Home”) from 7QTs. We became pen pals a couple years ago and are still writing letters. Maybe it’s time for me to find some more awesome blogs. 🙂

It’s so hard to remember who I “met” where! I think I found most blogs through Bonnie’s Sheen-azing Awards, but I went ahead and guessed Amy at All for Heaven’s Sake and Rosie at A Blog for My Mom. Thanks for hosting again!